National Bank of Canada FI Sells 98,084 Shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP)

National Bank of Canada FI lowered its position in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) by 16.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 488,445 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 98,084 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in CenterPoint Energy were worth $15,505,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CNP. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in CenterPoint Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in CenterPoint Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 657.1% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 901 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 782 shares during the period. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CenterPoint Energy Trading Down 3.3 %

NYSE:CNP opened at $36.14 on Friday. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $25.41 and a 52 week high of $37.70. The stock has a market cap of $23.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.73, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.65. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $34.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40. The business had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. CenterPoint Energy had a return on equity of 10.02% and a net margin of 11.79%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CNP has been the topic of several research reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH began coverage on CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $34.50 price objective on the stock. Scotiabank upgraded CenterPoint Energy from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $30.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays increased their price objective on CenterPoint Energy from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a report on Wednesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $42.00 target price on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $34.46.

CenterPoint Energy Profile

CenterPoint Energy, Inc operates as a public utility holding company in the United States. The company operates through two segments, Electric and Natural Gas. The Electric segment includes electric transmission and distribution services to electric customers and electric generation assets, as well as optimizes assets in the wholesale power market.